wisdom from the word of God

Proverbs 1:8-9 (Part 1): A Message unto Parents

Welcome to the 4th installment our Proverbs series. We hope this series has been a blessing to all our readers. We thank God for His word and the blessing of understanding. Want to encourage you to retrieve your bible before proceeding to read this installment.

Digging Deep into Bible Verses

Remember the bible is translated from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. We must dutiful study God’s word and investigate the languages He had His word preserved in. (2 Tim. 2:15) The following is an infographic of the definitions of the nouns and verbs contained in the verses:

Understanding Prov: 1:8-9

After combining all the definitions, we believe a reconfigured version of the verses in question would look similar to the following:

My son, attentively and obediently hear the warnings, corrections, and the instructions of your father. Do not thrust off the precepts and statues of your mother for they shall be a decoration of favor placed upon your head and a collar around your neck.

Parents, grandparents, and elders in a family are to guide the young with godly instruction and rules. The young must listen with obedience and not cast off the law they have been taught because these things together (instruction, warnings, corrections, and law) will be a decorative headdress of favor and a collar of restraint. Parents are to bless their children with sound instruction and guidance, the result of which is a crown of glory and the same is a restraint from evil

What Does the Bible Say about Parenting?

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Prov. 22:6)

Parents have an obligation to train a child in the way he should go. Notice Solomon doesn’t say train the child to go in whatever direction the child chooses. God tells us in Isa. 55:7-9 our ways are not His ways. A child must be trained up in God’s way.

Let’s look at a specific example of this.

“And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” (Deut. 6:6-9)

Notice Moses says, “these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in your heart.” What are the words being referred to?

As discussed in previous parts of this series, Moses is talking about the account of the Ten Commandments in chapter 5. Deut. 5:1shows us how Moses called the children of Israel together for this speech. This speech continues into chapter 6 where Moses is telling them to keep the law in their hearts.

The first step to training up a child in the way (God’s way) he should go is to have the law in your own heart. King David is a perfect example of having the law in his heart. Read verses like Ps. 119:6,47,127; Ps. 40:8.

Parents should pray this prayer of David, “7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (Ps. 51:7-10)

It would be impossible to teach your children something that is not in your heart. It would be prudent for parents wishing to teach their children the way of God to meditate day and night on the law of God. (Ps. 1:2; Ps.119:15,48,148) This is no simple task and it requires dedication and diligence. Parents have to be willing to put their energy into studying the world of God with the same zeal they participate in their favorite pastime.

After prayer, bible study, and meditation, you can have God’s law in your heart. This will obviously be a gradual process that can be done in the spirit of Deut. 6:7. As you pray for a clean heart, study the scriptures and meditate on God’s law, you should consistently discuss what you are learning with your children.

Be diligent in having these conversations everywhere you spend time with your children then your instruction to your children will be a crown of favor (grace and love) you have for them and a collar of restraint against participating in evil.